Add that to another thing I keep seeing today... that despite the deaths in Mexico (and the one US death that was a Mexican citizen visiting the US) people catching the swine flu are recovering quickly and it looks like the flu is pretty mild. You get sick for a few days, you get better, you get on with your life.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

What a game! How about those Carolina Hurricanes! Boy don't I wish I got to see it!

We came home and I turned on VS to catch the end of the Rangers/Capitals game/series. just a few seconds before that Sergei Federov had scored what would, a few seconds later, become the series clinching goal for Washington. It was beautiful watching New York blow a three games to one lead in the series. I would have liked to have met them in the second round, but I just felt dirty rooting for New York.

After the game VS switched to the New Jersey/Carolina game which was early in the third. The Devils were up 3-2 but it was looking like a good game. I leaned back to get comfy for what I thought would be a fun third period or desperation from the 'Canes...

And VS went back to the studio saying that due to contractual obligations they were unable to show the rest of the game.

Huh? Contractual obligations? Aren't you the affiliate network for the entire National Hockey League and isn't this the post season and wasn't it a game seven? Huh? VS: you suck.

So we went back to the Red Sox game for a while and saw that they had blown a 7-3 lead to the Indians that would eventually lead to the end of their 11 game winning streak. Damn it. I was shocked and a little pissed off to hear Don Orsillo announce that Carolina had taken the game and the series by scoring twice in the last 80 seconds of the game to stun New Jersey.

Also I was happy. Happy because the Bruins will play the Hurricanes (the last team they beat in a playoff series prior to ousting the cousin pokin' Montreal Canadiens last week) and they were 4-0 against them in the regular season.

So it's time to recap my predictions for round one. In a word: Suck. VS sucks, Joe Thornton sucks, and I suck when it comes to predicting playoff series (partly because, as previously mentioned, Joe Thornton sucks.)

In the East...Boston vs Montreal = Correct! (extra happy about that one, obviously)Washington vs New York = CorrectNew Jersey vs Carolina = Correct? I had to go back to the original post to see who I picked and was surprised I picked the Whale. I really did. Look it up yourself. Maybe I didn't suck as bad as I thought (in the East at least)Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia = Correct. I was 100% in the East? Somehow I got my head and my heart mixed up and thought I had picked New Jersey and Philly. Wow, maybe I don't suck as bad as Joe Thornton.

In the West however...San Jose vs Anaheim = Fuck you Joe Thornton, you suck = Incorrect.Detroit vs Columbus = Correct. Duh. Again, no offense to the Blue Jackets.Vancouver vs St. Louis = Incorrect. The first of two failed longshot picks.Chicago vs Calgary = Incorrect. The second longshot pick that failed.

So I picked 5 out of 8 for a winning rate of 62.5%. Not very good, but above 50% which is my meager goal each year. I thought it was worse than that.

Boston vs Carolina:Who do you think. Boston lead the season series 4-0, but that was before the Whalercanes end of the season rush to storm into the playoffs. Tim Thomas against Cam Ward. It should be an awesome series. Boston will win it but it won't be easy. A minor upside to this series is that I once again get to root against that prick Joe Corvo. Hey Joe, beat up and waitresses lately? Ya prick! Go Bruins

Washington vs Pittsburgh:The folks in the NHL marketing offices are pissing themselves with glee over this. Ovetchkin and the Caps against Crosby and Malkin and the Penguins. Quite possibley the three best players in the league, the poster boys for the future, all in the same series. The league has been drooling over this possibility since the lock out ended. Now they have it. It should be awesome. But who to pick? Pittsburgh looked strong against the Flyers in the first round. Washington did everything humanly possible to blow it against the Rangers before getting their shite together and taking the series. Rookie goalie Varlarmov (sp?) verses proven goalie Flurey. Who the hell knows? This one could go either way. I have no idea who to pick. ummm... Okay, I am going with Washington only because they are the higher seed. I just hope that the Bruins can win their match up while this one goes seven games with massive injuries to both sides.

Detroit vs Anaheim:This should be no sweat for Detroit. Then again I said the same thing about San Jose and look what those assholes did to me (again). Joe Thornton, you suck. My brain is telling me to pick Detroit so I will. My gut wants to go with Anaheim but it's not being objective. I am projecting to a possible future with Boston in the finals and I want the better Western teams to go away before then. That's why I will be rooting for the Ducks even though I am picking the Red Wings.

Vancouver vs Chicago:The two teams I showed no respect to are meeting in the second round... figures. Like Pitt/Washington this one could go either way for me. Vancouver has Luongo and that might give them the edge, but Chicago is a hell of a team. I am going to pick Chicago as my one 2nd round lower-seed-wins upset prediction. Really because I am still projecting a possible Bruins-in-the-finals scenario and it would be cool to see Boston vs Chicago. So this one I pick with my gut and not my brain.

I cannot get overly optimistic with the Bruins though. One game at a time. I expect them to come out rusty in game one, and I sort of expect the Whale to beat them on Friday. Cautious optimism. Fingers crossed. One-game-at-a-time.

...and now I hate them back. There is probably going to be swearing in this one, just so ya know.

Choke. Suck. San Jose. Three synonyms.

Best team in the regular season. Dominate from wire to wire. Ousted in 6 games by a #8 seed. Fucking ridiculous. Me, the idiot who last season picked them to win the cup only to see them fall in the 2nd round for, what, the third straight year, swore never to pick them again... then I saw the first round match up and thought the collapse would wait until the 2nd round yet again.

Nope, they lost in the first.

People are talking about how shocking it is. I disagree. The shock was losing games one and two. After that the series loss was inevitable. Nothing shocking anymore. Thornton, Marleau, Nabokov, all of you can spend the rest of your lives being known for sucking hard when it matters most. There are some cup winners in the lineup who will have great careers tarnished by the inability to show up in the playoffs this year. Sorry Rob Blake, I've always been a big fan, (how can you not be a fan of a guy who throws ass checks like Johnny Bucyk?) but your rep definitely takes a hit here.

This was hands down the best team in the NHL from day one right through the end of the regular season. No offense to Detroit or to my hallowed Boston Bruins, both of whom are just awesome teams, but you guys weren't in their league. They were clearly the best team. Top to bottom.

And now they are nothing but a bunch of Montreal flavored losers.

The part that hurts the most is that my days of rooting for Joe Thornton are officially over. You suck Joe. I've been singing your praises since day one, but when the great players need to step up you disappear. You suck Joe. It hurts me to say that, but you suck. I hope looking at your huge regular season numbers makes you feel better about yet another poor post season showing, and yet another missed opportunity to put a Stanley Cup ring on that finger. I'm done with you.

To cap off the bad hockey night, the Flames were ousted by the Blackhawks as well. Two more first round predictions that I got wrong. I don't blame the Flames though, they at least played as hard as their injury plagued line up could. It was a long shot to pick them over Chicago anyway. The Hawks are a good team.

Tonight the East playoffs end with two game sevens. Will Boston play New York, Carolina, or Pittsburgh in the second round? We'll know at some point tonight. I am ready to start rooting for a team that didn't lie down and die in the first round like a bunch of wimps. Good riddance San Jose. You fucking suck.

Go Bruins

PS: The Boston Red Sox earned their 11th straight win last night to move into a tie with Toronto for first place in the American League East. There's a team that loves me as much as I love them.

Monday, April 27, 2009

I know it's hockey playoff time and my sporting attention is generally directed there... but this weekend marked 2009's first meeting of the Boston Red Sox and the scumbag New York Yankees. My hatred of the Montreal Canadiens runs deep, but not quite as deep as my hatred of the Yankees.

The Sox swept the three game series. I know it's only April, but few sporting events can ever make me happier than the Red Sox sweeping a series from the Yankees.

I managed to watch some of each game. Not all of any of them though. Friday they were losing when we went to bed... and then won in extra innings in dramatic fashion. Saturday they were back and forth all game and won it late. Sunday I was asleep before 10:00. Jen and I were in bed with the game quietly on the radio. It was 1-1 when I lost consciousness.

I missed this:

That is the greatest thing ever. EVER! Ellsbury steals home! Brilliant! The only way that could have been awesomer was if it was the winning run. Andy Pettite is world renown for picking runners off of first. That didn't stop Jacoby from stealing second earlier in the game... and then he stole fricken home!

In hockey news, still no word on who the Bruins will be facing in the second round. Philadelphia is out so if the higher seeds take the pair of game sevens scheduled for tomorrow night then we'll get Pittsburgh. If the Rangers win their game seven we get them. If they lose and Carolina wins we get Carolina.

The Rangers have blown their 3-1 series lead as the Capitals have decided to show up. The Devils and Hurricanes are slugging it out in classic fashion. I haven't payed much attention to the Chicago vs Calgary series, but all the pundits predicted Chicago to win easy and Calgary has made it a close series. The Blackhawks can clinch with a game six win tonight, but I am rooting for a game seven. San Jose has decided to put off their inevitable choke for one more night by blowing an early lead but winning in overtime in game five. The Ducks can put them out of their misery by taking game six tonight. I have decided to never put faith in the Sharks again, so I could care less if they force a game seven or not. The hell with them.

Yesterday I helped do some of the heavy lifting in moving the furniture out of Lisa's old condo, which is just about to be sold. I am so tired I can't describe it in words. The closest I can come is to say zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I think the plan is to try and get outside and enjoy some of this summer like weather with the kids. They have a couple of cool bubble producing aparatuses which I believe will be taken for test drives. It should be fun.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

I helped Lisa and Ken clean out her condo. I am in full body pain. I still managed to laugh my ass off at the movie Role Models. It was terrible but I really dug it. Now I am going to sleep for nine days.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Four games last night. Detroit completed their sweep of Columbus. My predictions for the first round now stand at two correct and one incorrect. (stupid St Louis.) New Jersey beat Carolina to take a three games to two lead. Philly agreed to my request that they win at least one more game before losing to Pittsburgh. I will make the same request again and ask them to push the series to the seventh game before losing. We all know they are going to lose, right? Right? Finally, it is true. The San Jose Sharks just plain hate me. The Presidents trophy winners are now down three games to one against a number eight seed. It's friggin' embarrassing. How dare they suck this bad in the playoffs. No, let me rephrase... how dare they suck this bad in the playoffs again. There is only one game tonight and we will see if the Capitals are going to lie down and die and let the New York Rangers upset them. New York's goalie Heinrick Lundqvist scares me, but I still would much rather see the seventh seeded Rangers than the Hurricanes or the Penguins in the first round.

Go Bruins!

Last night Jen and I went to the mall and checked off another big item from our pre-wedding to-do list. (I love hyphens.) I can't say what it is, but suffice to say we can now have the rehearsal dinner.

Saturday is going to be a busy day. We have our first t-ball practice of the season in the morning, then we are helping my big sister move all of her stuff out of her condo. She hasn't been living there since she got married. It's taken a while and a lot of hard work, but she finally seems to have a buyer for it. The closing date is coming soon so on Saturday we are cleaning everything out of it. Afterwards we are supposed to head to my parent's house for dinner. I'm not sure how much of each thing we will be able to do. We might be without Jen for the moving as she has to work for a while. If she does help out with the move we might have to skip dinner. Either way I will be helping with the move so there will be at least one huge guy who once was known for being freakishly strong... that was a long time ago... but maybe I can channel my distant past UPS employee self and take care of the heavy stuff.

We found another one last night. Another one of them. Damn bugs. He was a small one and I carried out his sentense with extreme prejudice. Jen was awesome. She kept her cool and guided me to the little bastard so I could squash him to jelly. Gotcha ya little shit!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

They did it! Revenge for '02, '04, and '08! The Boston Bruins swept the Montreal Canadiens!

Glorious!

Even better, I actually picked a first round winner! WOOHOO!

I got home last night and the kids were shutting off the television to sit down for dinner. I said, "Are you guys ready to watch some hockey tonight?"

They said, "No!"

Jen said, "I told them they could watch a show after dinner." (actually, should not have quoted that. I don't think that's exactly what she said.)

So I went to my desk in the office and put on the wbz.com audio stream, logged into twitter.com and started listening while waiting for the 2 Power Puff Girls episodes to end.

There were a couple of very important things that happened during those few minutes of radio/tweeting. I am going to redefine geek here by actually copying in some actual tweets. Forgive me my pesky nerdishness.

The Bruins were on a power play. Michael Ryder took a stupid hooking penalty. I posted this:

I then realized something was wrong. The Bruins were losing one to nothing. It occurred to me that I wasn't wearing a Bruins jersey! I posted:

This is all my fault. I don't have my white #bruins jersey on. I'll go fix the problem now.

I ran upstairs and put my old white Bruins replica jersey on. (I have a newer black home jersey that I got for Christmas last year too) I posted this:

Okay, I have the road #bruins jersey on along with the #redsox hat. They will turn it around now.

The kids came into the office to tell me that the show was over and I could put the game on the television. Just after I sat down Michael Ryder scored to tie the game at one. I called it! I am Mr Hockey Prognosticator!

Didn't I just tweet that Ryder would score to make up for the penalty? #bruins 2 #habs 1. Bring on the 2nd period!!

It was glorious. Absolutely glorious. (or as glorious as a game in the first round of the playoffs between a 1 seed and an 8 seed can be I guess.)

The Bruins kept it up scoring three more times and the Canadiens players came unglued. Price flipped off the fans when they gave him a mock cheer. Some one shot a puck at Mark Savard after a whistle. Komisarek went after Milan Lucic, not once but twice. The first time he picked a fight and Looch KO'd him with one punch. The second time he cross checked Lucic in the face and drew himself a five minute major and a game misconduct. I guess he just didn't want to have to play the rest of the game. Given the Canadiens collapse, can you blame him?

Here are some youtube highlights.

The first round sweep is complete. Bring on the second round! It's looking like it might be the New York Rangers. Boston's 2nd most hated hockey rival.

The Bruins lead the series three games to none over Montreal. Tonight is game four. I honestly expected the Canadiens to take one of their two home games, but after the way the Bruins weathered their furious first period attack, and then dominated the third period... I think we may be seeing the brooms come out at the Bell Centre tonight. I'm not being over confident. I am being cautiously optimistic again. It sure would be nice though.

Go Bruins!

I have been so wrapped up in the Bruins series that I haven't been paying all that much attention to the other teams. I've watched Philly and Pittsburgh a couple of times because that seems to be all Versus will let us see. Why doesn't the NHL television network carry any games? That's absurd. They should be picking up Canadian broadcasts. I've also caught a few minutes of Vancouver/St. Louis here and there, and a little bit of Rangers/Capitals.

Vancouver became the first team to advance last night by completing the sweep over St. Louis. That was my pick for a big upset... I picked wrong. Figures. I should never root against Lock Monster Hero Roberto Luongo.

I think the San Jose Sharks just hate me. It's nice to see that the best team in the NHL finally won a friggin' game. They lost the first two at home to Anaheim but took the first game on the road last night. Nice of them, eh? I guess the masters of choke have held off the decicive verdit for another couple of days at least.

Carolina vs. New Jersey looks like the series to watch this round. Two overtime games already, and two wins a piece. It's funny that the last parent team of the Lowell Lock Monsters is playing the parent team of the team that replaced them, the Lowell Devils. Do I root for Cam Ward and Ryan Bayda or do I root for Dave Clarkson? It's a connundrum to say the least. I just wish Versus would give us one of the damn games so we could join in the fun.

Like I said, I've been able to see a bit of the Philly vs Penguins series and there have been some happy moments of on ice violence. Much like the Bruins/Canadiens series, these two teams just don't like each other at all and it is showing clearly. I can't see Philly coming back from being down three games to one, but I am hoping for at least one more Philly win so they can keep bashing the hell out of each other, softening Pittsburgh up for a possible future match up with the Bruins.

I'm also not sure of the New York vs Washington series. Do I want the ferocious offense of Alex Ovetchkin and the Capitals to advance, taking their weak #1 goalie and unproven #2 goalie (who has taken over as the starter)? Or do I want the Rangers and their utter lack of offense to advance, taking their monsterourly unbeatable goalie with them? Decisions, decisions. I just hope the Bruins advance, and I would greatly prefer it happen tonight. My fingers are crossed.

Go Bruins.

Speaking of Washington, we booked a night time trolley tour of the monuments for our DC honeymoon stop. We also requested a tour through the office of Senator Ted Kennedy, and actually booked a tour through the office of Representative Nikki Tsongas. We're waiting to see what Uncle Teddy gives us before we decided which one to do. Sadly we won't be entering the White House this time as tours have to be booked at least two months in advance, and they require groups of at least 10 people. That kinda sucks, but given the security issues of today's society, I sort of almost understand. Still sucks though.

Speaking of security, I have been trying to set up automatic payments for my credit card. I logged into my online account to check something out today and got stopped with a message saying my account might have been comprimised. A new account has been opened for me and the old account will be transfered into it. Yippee. I called and they assured me it was a security break in the database of a company I've done business with in the past that caused it. It wasn't my account specifically, and it wasn't their database. That's nice to know. It sucks, but I'm glad they caught it.

Watch the highlights again and bask in the glow of the warm warming glow of the Bruins taking a three games to none lead over the Canadiens.

Mike the Bass Player was at the Celtics game last night. I had the Bruins on the tube and twitter on my laptop and had a sporadic commentary going there while texting score updates to Mike. Meanwhile Jen was working on the couch next to me. I hope I didn't bother her too much with my fanboy goofiness.

In the third period Jen and I did some honeymoon work. We bought tickets to two baseball games. One is a weekend game in San Diego with honkin' good seats at Petco Park, or whatever corporate bullshit name they gave it today. The other is a weeknight game in the bleachers at Dodgers Stadium.

I cannot wait!

We are down to 39 days left until the wedding. We still have a lot to do, but I am reaching the point where I am equal parts excited about it and just wishing it would get here. I want to be married and I want to disappear with my wife for a couple of weeks.

I cannot wait!

But I have to wait, and while I do you can wait with me and together we can read this cnn article about former Apollo astronaut Edgar Mitchell telling a UFO conference that aliens exist, we are not alone in the universe, and that Earthly governments are covering it all up.

This morning I pulled out of the driveway a little earlier than normal. 7:01am. I pulled into a parking spot at work at 8:00am. 59 minutes for a drive that usually takes about 70-75 minutes.

Must be April school vacation week! WOOHOO

Today I was cruising along on route 62 in Concord, MA and I saw a company of about 6 Minutemen marching down the road. So the 18th century Massachusetts Colonial Militia has been called to duty?

Must be Patriots Day!

Today is the day people in Massachusetts celebrate the start of the American Revolution. They day of the proverbial "shot heard 'round the world."

British troops marched out of Boston to take out a munitions dump in Concord. They were met at the old North Bridge crossing the Concord river by a militia unit. Shots were fired. The proverbial "shit hit the fan." The British troops headed back to Boston under almost constant attack from other militia units along the way. 15 months later the 13 colonies declared their independence. Eight years later the British government recognized the independence of the United States of America. 200+ years later people in the state of Massachusetts get the day off.

Some of them at least. Not me. This is the one holiday I don't get off. It's okay though, the office is more or less dead, and the Red Sox are playing at 11:00am and the Boston Marathon is underway. Lots of news to follow today. And there is that little added bonus of next to no traffic on the ride home. I like that.

You may be wondering why there is no camera phone evidence of the Minutemen I saw on the road this morning. Well, sadly I was listening to music on my iPhone and couldn't get the camera up and running fast enough. I had a tiny bit more luck when I saw three deer on the side of the road. I pulled over and aimed the camera as they started to run away. If you click on this picture and see the full sized shot you can sort of see them.

Always fun to see interesting wildlife during the ride in to work.

The Bruins are playing tonight. Game three of the best of seven game series. They lead 2-0 over the vile cousin pokin' Montreal Canadiens. The series moves to Montreal for games three and four. The Bruins will be without the services of Milan Lucic who was suspended for one game for a hit to the head. I haven't seen the play, but I guess it was a punch, not a high stick. That's good at least. They will also again be without Matt Hunwick who missed Saturday's game with a removed spleen. They dude had his effing spleen removed, and the team is hoping he might make it back into play if we are fortunate enough to advance to the next round. Yes, hockey players are definitely tougher than anyone else on the planet. Navy SEALS might have one up on hockey players in the tough department, but that's probably it.

I am going to force my Jenny to watch this game with me tonight. Maybe we can find some wedding prep stuff to do during the commercials and intermissions. hehe

In the early going, the Red Sox have won four in a row to bring themselves out of the AL East cellar and back to a 500 record. They are still in third, and even worse they are still behind the Yankees, but things are improving. Keep winning guys, another 20-30 in a row will feel good, and don't scare us like that again!

I mentioned this before, but here's the background. I didn't want a bachelor party. Jen didn't want a bachelorette party. Mary, the maid of honor, suggested we get all of our friends together and all go out together for one fun night. We agreed. It was a great idea.

Mary and John the best man took care of everything. They invited our favorite people and made reservations at a swanky Italian restaurant in the North End, and then got us tickets for a show at the Improv Asylum.

The dinner was fantastic. They put us all together at one long table and fed us until we were ready to burst. Everything was delicious.

The Improv Asylum was great on it's own, but before the show started some one noticed some one walking through a backstage door who looked remarkably similar to an old friend. When Mike the bass player and I were in high school we had a band. It went through a few incarnations between our sophomore year and through my first year or so of college. The keyboard player in that band was Jim Zaroulis. The keyboard player at the Improv Asylum last night was Jim Zaroulis. We got to catch up a little on old times. It was an added extra treat to top off a great night.

Here are a few pictures...

The Bachelorette gets ready.

Roving iPhone reporter catches some hubbub on the drive in.

Ummm... Happy Easter?

Our friends at dinner.

We had spectators watching us eat. Note the couple in the window.

A Pano attempt.

The restaurant.

Marisa, Michael, and Lisa... who weren't quite in the dinner pictures. I missed a few others too.

The happy couple in the dark at the improv asylum.

The stage. Jim Z. is in this picture on the keys in the back.

A failed attempt at a group shot in the dark. Camera Bag helped a little.

(oh yeah, and the Bruins spaked the Canadiens in game 2. It was a perfect night all over the place.)

I didn't really want a bachelor party. Jen didn't really want a bachelorette party. Mary the Maid of Honor suggested we replace those traditions with one night out for both of us and a bunch of friends. Basically do both parties at the same time.

That sounded good to us.

Tonight is the night. We don't know where we're going. We only know that it's in Boston and we shouldn't wear jeans. You all will see tweets and posts and whatnot as the night goes on.

In closing let me show you the house we found. It's in Concord right near Walden Pond. We should be able to move in any day now. Sweet!

Friday, April 17, 2009

Just a quick recap on Friday. I took the day off, Jen took a half day.

We went to the town hall in Tewksbury and applied for our marriage license. It's all legal like now. hehe

We went to a 3pm meeting with our coordinator at the reception hall and she didn't show up.

We went to my parent's house to wait for the coordinator to call us. Fortunately Lisa and Mary were both there too and both baby Patrick and Sarah were able to take our mind off of being pissed off at being blown off for a couple of hours.

At 7pm we finally got a very appologetic call from the coordinator and we went and had our meeting. The whole time line has been sketched out. We now not only know what is going to happen during the reception, but we know approximately when. Good stuff.

Then we celebrated with ice cream. mmmmm ice cream.

Then Jen saw the first house centipede of the year.

They tell us that house centipedes are good to have around because they hunt like crazy and eat all other bugs (including spiders... does any other bug eat spiders? I don't think so). Unfortunately they are also the vilest most evil looking creatures on the face of the planet. More horrible looking than even a crab with the head of an insurance salesman. (Yes, that was a Woody Allen line)

Last year I sentenced all house centipedes that invade our half of the duplex to the most horrible death I can dish out.

Tonight's execution was carried out with enough enthusiasm that the windows are still rattling a half hour later.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Two things going through my mind as I ponder the start of the Bruins vs Canadiens series tonight.

First:

What's the over under on Mike Komisarek surviving the series? Really, how many games is it going to take before some Bruins (probably a Bruin named Lucic) removes Mr Komisarek's head from his neck and shouts, "There can be only one" to the cheers of his fellow Bruins and fans?

Mike Komisarek is a bitch (in hockey terms) and at some point he will be dismantled.

Second:

What does it say about the Montreal Canadiens that Celine Dion is currently trying to buy the team?

(okay, so maybe I'm giving Hot Rod the Mod a tad too much credit there, but he did sing in the original Jeff Beck group and I am therefore eternally indebted to him for at least two of the records he worked on in his 9000 year long career.)

I sense I'm going to be sliding off topic quite a bit today.

Last night I watched the Penguins completely undo the Flyers. It was nice. I picked the Pens to win the series, but I would rather see the weaker Flyers win in the hopes that the Bruins will have as easy a time as possible getting to the cup finals. Assuming the Bruins can re-break their Montreal jinx. The lost something like 9852 consecutive playoff series to the Canadiens before finally beating them in... in... 1988 was it? I think so. Now we've lost three in a row. This streak ends this year (please please please please please let the playoff series losing streak to Montreal end this year). I am cautiously optimistic.

The Rangers beat Washington. That could be interesting. If the Bruins beat Montreal and the Rangers beat Washington we could have a chance to spank both of our most hated rivals in the same playoff year. Montreal and New York. That could be fun.

What the hell did I do to myself? I've been having a toothache for a couple of days. That's driving me a little nuts at times, but mostly it's been manageable. This morning though I feel like I pulled a muscle in my left shoulder. Every time I move my head I get pain from the shoulder blade all the way up to behind me ear. This sucks!

Jen was on call last night starting at 10:30. Her company rolled out a new code version and she had to work on any bugs that immediately popped up. I told her I'd stay up with her. She was working until 1:30 in the morning. I was in bed at 10:40. I totally failed her. I need to do something sweet for her to make it up to her. I'm not very good with stuff like that though, so post a comment with an idea or two.

Speaking of comments, we have the opportunity to see the San Diego Padres play in three different stadiums during the California portion of our honeymoon. We can see them play at home, at Dodgers' Stadium, and the Big A in Anaheim. Three games on our honeymoon is pushing it. We might go to two games at most. Which stadiums should we go to? Vote for one or two of the above mentioned three in a comment please. Thanks

I'm going to go take a fist full of aspirin in hopes of deadening the pain in my retarded shoulder.

But the Red Sox are playing Oakland right now and are up 6-0 in the top of the 8th. That's not the most important thing though... but I refuse to be the one who jinxes whatever it is that Tim Wakefield may or may not be doing in this game.

My father and my brother are both tax accountants. Today is a magical day for them. It's the day they get their lives back. From basically late January through mid April they spend every waking moment preparing other people's taxes. They work their asses off, they stress like you wouldn't believe. They miss out on a lot of friends and family time. But today it's over. Today is the day they rejoin society. Welcome back guys!

On to other news. Yesterday Jen asked me if I would mind if we altered the honeymoon plans a bit. The plan at that point was to go from the wedding to a b&b in Woodstock, VT. Then after a couple of nights drive to Gettysburg, PA and get our civil war history geek groove on. (did I just say "get our groove on?") Then after a couple of days go to Washington, DC and get our government town history geek groove on. (did I just do it again? Shoot me!). Then after almost a week we'd mosey on home and spend almost a week just being with each other and relaxing.

Not anymore. We've filled up the second week. We're going to San Diego, CA. I hear they've got internet in Californy. The only definite San Diego plan is to go to the zoo. After that it's all open. Today Jen asked me if I'd be interested in hitting a Padres game. Or a Dodgers game. Or an Angels game. Or all of the above. Last week we talked about going to an Orioles game or a Nationals game while we were in DC. How sick would it be if we went to five major league games in five different cities. It could be the baseball honeymoon dream trip! I don't care what we do at any stop on the honeymoon so long as we do it together. If we're together it'll be a complete blast.

Now for what will be a nearly constant blog topic for the next couple of months. The NHL playoffs. The first round starts tonight. I plan to torture the kids by forcing them to watch the Philly vs Pittsburgh game on Versus. Tonight Jen is on call so she will be up very late. I will stay up with her and catch some of the St. Louis vs Vancouver game, also on Versus. I don't know if the NHL network will be carrying any games (they freakin' better!) but hopefully I'll be able to catch some of the Carolina vs New Jersey and NY Rangers vs Washington games as well.

Tonight we are rooting for Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Carolina, and Washington. The real game is on tomorrow though when my beloved Boston Bruins face off against the vile, evil, scumbag, child molesting, devil worshiping, cousin pokin' Montreal Canadiens. You can guess who I want to win in that matchup.

I am hoping that the Bruins will defeat said cousin pokin' Montreal in four games without suffering any injuries to any players. The other seven series I am hoping will go seven games each and every top line skater, top defense pairing, and starting goaltender will suffer season ending injuries. I want to make it as easy as possible for my Bruins to take the cup this year.

Slept late. Just a little late, but enough to have to rush into work. Which is tough to do seeing as work is about 70 minutes from home (on a good day... today was a good day).

My stomach is off. My nose is stuffy (just a little, better than yesterday). I ate McDonalds last night and I am totally paying for it. After the better part of a month eating correctly on weight watchers I fell off the wagon hard for Easter. We had dinner with Jen's mom and step dad on Saturday, then on Easter Sunday we had brunch at the kid's father's house and another huge dinner at my parent's house. Then there is the little issue of the gobs and gobs of chocolate available in the house. My stomach is not happy with me right now. There were a few minutes there when I considered calling in sick out of fear that my entire digestive system would revolt on me. How's that for too much info on a Tuesday morning.

I am feeling achy all over. My head aches, my neck aches, my legs ache, everything aches. This sucks. I better feel better by Saturday. Saturday is my not-bachelor party. Instead of the traditional bachelor and bachelorette parties our wedding party, ie my brother and his wife, are throwing us a joint get together. Not a bachelor party, not a bachelorette party, but something combined that falls somewhere in between both of them. I don't know what it is or who is going. I just know that it involved Boston and jeans are not an outfit option. You'll know more on Saturday night when I tweet/blog the dickens out of the thing.

Last night I saw a post on twitter saying that Mark Fidrych had died. Fidrych was a Massachusetts guy who piched in the major leagues for Detroit in the mid 70's. He was briefly a superstar. He won the rookie of the year award in 1976. He also came in 2nd in Cy Young voting and a very respectable 11th in MVP balloting. He was one of baseball's better personalities. He was known for getting down on his hands and knees and grooming the pitcher's mound during games. He was better known for talking to baseballs. He also would occasionally ask umpires to remove balls from play because he felt they "had hits in them." Simply put he was a whack job. In '76 he did two things. Win games and sell shit loads of tickets. He also is the shining example of mismanagement of a young pitcher. His manager relied on him so heavily during that amazing season that his body pretty much revolted and his career was ruined as soon as it started. Read this article for the specifics.

I once went to a baseball clinic at ULowell with my father and his little league team. I had already aged off of his 10-12 year old team and I don't think my brother was old enough yet, but I think he was there too. They had two major leaguers working along with the ULowell team. The major leaguers were Spanky LaVallier (who hopefully won't sue me for butching the spelling of his name... sorry dude) who if memory serves had just moved from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the St. Louis Cardinals and would not long after become the Cardinals' starting catcher. The other big leaguer was Mark Fidrych who had recently made an attempt at a comeback with the Red Sox but never got out of AAA.

Spanky was there to talk hitting, and at the end of the day they raffled off one of his bats. It's still in the closet in my old bedroom in Tewksbury. When I was 15 I used it in Senior League games. It is huuuge but I think I might have snuck a hit or two out of it.

Mark Fidrych was there to tell the youngsters in the crowd about the dangers of throwing curve balls. He told us horror stories about how his arm had been mangled so badly he would never have proper use of it again. He actually lifted it up and showed us how it would no longer hang straight. The lesson was that throwing junk pitches has a physical affect on you. It's bad enough for an adult, but for a kid, especially a kid who is just hitting puberty, it can ruin you. Fidrych was 21 at the start of his rookie season. he was only three years out of high school. It's hard to imagine him going through puberty as a fastball pitcher and in three years becoming a league dominating junk pitcher. He was a curve ball guy all through his life, and after one gloriously fantastic major league season it was pretty much over.

Ironically, we saw him on NESN last week while Jen and I were at my parent's house. Dad and I reminisced a little about that clinic and about his wackiness on the mound. Now less than a week later we learn that he's gone. He was 54 and far too young. Rest in Peace Bird.

In happier sporting news, EA Sports ran their annual NHL Playoff simulation and the predicted winner is? None other than our own Boston Bruins! Granted, EA picked San Jose last year... funny, so did I. Here is their story.

That's it for now, but some one just emailed me youtube clips of the Bruins playoff ad campaign... you might be seeing those in a little while.

Monday, April 13, 2009

The only thing that sucks about this year's NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs is that we have to wait until Thursday for the start of the Boston vs Montreal rematch.

Last year the Bruins were seeded 8th and the Habs were seeded 1st. It went to seven games and the B's came oh so close to embarrassing the hated Canadiens with a first round exit. Sadly the Bruins couldn't take that seventh game.

This year the Bruins are seeded 1st and the Canadiens are seeded 8th. As always, my optimism is of the cautious variety, but I am definitely picking the Bruins in the first round, and this year I'm not doing it out of loyalty, I'm doing it because the Bruins are clearly the better team.

Boston vs Montreal:I will never be confident picking the Bruins over the Canadiens. There are too many examples of much better Bruins teams getting their hearts ripped out by a bunch of bitches called Canadiens. Still, this year Boston has dominated. I pick the Bruins. Again, not just because they are my home town team, but because they are the better team.

Washington vs New York:Part of me wanted New York to finish 8th so the Bruins would get them instead of Montreal. I hate New York. It will be a pleasure to watch the Capitals destroy them. Hopefully in four games, but probably not more than five. I pick Washington.

New Jersey vs Carolina:Interesting series. The Hurricanes were unreal down the stretch. The Devils were unreal just before the stretch and then came unglued at the end. I think the Hurricanes win this, but I expect New Jersey to put up a good fight. I'd like to see this one go seven games. I pick Carolina.

Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia:I love it when arch rivals meet in the post season. (see Boston vs Montreal) I think Pittsburgh had the better team and I am going with them this time. Not just because if my predictions pan out we'll see a Crosby vs Ovetchkin second round series. I pick the Penguins.

Western Conference

San Jose vs Anaheim:I've gone with San Jose each of the last two or three years. I think they are the best team in the league, and I think they've been the best team for quite a while. Yet they still seem to make me look like a chump every time I pick them. At least in the second round. In the first round I've always been right. Sorry Anaheim but you're going to get your asses handed to you. I pick San Jose to breeze through this series. (next round though... there might be a change)

Detroit vs Columbus:Congratulations to the Blue Jackets! Way to go! Finally, for the first time in franchise history you get to go to the dance! Excellent job! Now as a reward you get to lose four straight games to one of the greatest teams in human history, the Detroit Red Wings! Enjoy it while you can! I pick Detroit in a laugher. No offense Columbus. I really am proud of you.

Vancouver vs St. Louis:Every year I try to make at least one ridiculously stupid upset prediction. This is it. Lots of people are picking Vancouver to win in the west. Why? Because they are a great team and they are playing on fire right now. Me? I'm picking The Blues. Granted their proverbial wad is probably shot just getting to the post season, never mind jumping up to the sixth seed. Still, I am jumping on the St. Louis bandwagon (in the first round at least) and I am picking them to totally upset the much better Vancouver Canucks.

Chicago vs Calgary:I'm a Calgary fan. I am not a Chicago fan. Chicago is probably a slightly better team, but I am going to pick the Flames again. It would be an upset from the standing's point of view, but probably not that big of an upset. I like 'em, I'm pickin' 'em. Flames in seven.

There you have it, my totally uninformed 2009 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions. I can't friggin wait until Thursday!!!! (Wednesday too... the playoffs themselves start Wednesday, but the big game is Boston vs Montreal on Thursday.)

Our broker tried talking them into actually following the agreement they made and they told him they would rather lose the sale then deal with the pressure we're putting on them.

So we found the perfect house, agreed to buy it at the seller's price, and then had one day to enjoy the huge step we were taking in our life together only to have it pulled out from under us by sheer stupidity and amateurism and childishness.

They want a plumber to check the bathroom before the inspection? Our broker told them he could have one there in 20 minutes and they said no. They had a friend they wanted to take care of it and he couldn't do it for a few days.

They couldn't deal with the pressure we were putting on them to stick to the agreements they made last fucking night.

They told our broker that we can't have the inspection done because they'll be in New York and don't want anyone in their house without them. Also, they want to have a plumber look at the upstairs bathroom before our inspection because they are not sure it works.

Yesterday our offer expired at 5:00pm and we hadn't heard anything. We wrote the deal off as dead and started trying to move on.

At 5:17 Jen got a call from our broker. He said the reason we didn't hear by 5:00 was he was on the phone with the seller, not the seller's agent, and was answering basic questions about selling a house. For example, he said he was asked how one goes about getting their last water bill. Huh? Our sellers are more clueless than we thought.

But, we set a deadline and they got in ahead of the deadline so we went to visit the broker last night and sign off on the offer. The inspection is Saturday afternoon, the Purchase and Sale agreement deadline is next Friday, and the closing date is June 25th. Please please please please let everything go smoothly from here on out.

There are 11... no, 10 minutes left before our offer on the house expires. I'm going to while away the time by posting on my blog. (and by IMing Jenny. Hi Jenny!)

Wil Wheaton is the king of Twitter. He posted a link to this site where you can see a great little comic that speaks to my annoyance with iTunes' shuffle function.

I was going to post the image, but it's the first comic this person has ever done. So out of respect you have to go to his site and see it. It's a wired blog called Geek Dad.

Enjoy.

And in case you're wondering there are now 6 minutes left until the offer expires. Make that 5.

While we're at it, here's a link to Wil Wheaton's twitter profile. It, along with his website, are a good read. It makes me almost feel bad about wanting to see Wesley Crusher assimilated or blown out an air lock or something.

The offer now expires in 2 minutes. I guess giving them exactly what they asked for wasn't enough. Screw them. There are better houses in town.

I found links to these stories on twitter. I tend to find breaking stories there a lot lately.

The first link is from The Huffington Post. Last night's starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels was killed in a car accident...

TMZ reports that 22-year-old Los Angeles Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed in a hit-and-run car accident early Thursday morning — just hours after pitching six shutout innings against the Oakland A's:

Cops say someone driving a minivan blew through a red light and hit the Mitsubishi that Adenhart was riding in. Three people were killed in the crash, including Nick.

Cops say the person driving the van fled the scene -- but was later caught and charged with felony hit-and-run.

We're told one of the other men killed in the crash was also affiliated with the Angels organization.

The AP's story on Wednesday's game — in which the A's beat the Angels 6-4 — notes that it was Adenhart's fourth major league start:

Angels rookie Nick Adenhart scattered seven hits over six scoreless innings and escaped a pair of bases-loaded jams. He struck out five and walked three in his fourth major league start.

Adenhart was born in Silver Springs, Maryland on August 24, 1986. The right-handed pitcher graduated from Williamsport High School in Maryland and made his major league debut on May 1, 2008.

Posted by Danny Shea

The second story is as creepy as that one is sad. It comes from nola.com and it may mark the start of a world wide zombie epidemic/panic. Readers may wish that this was posted on April 1st so they could write it off as a zombie April Fools joke... but it's not April 1st. Stock up on shotguns and cricket bats folks, the zombies are coming...

A Metairie resident is recovering after a stranger bit a chunk of flesh out of his arm and swallowed it Saturday afternoon.

Joseph Lancellotti, 67, told authorities he did not know the suspect, later identified as Mario Vargas, 48, or why he was attacked in his front yard.

Lancellotti was gardening at his home in the 4400 block of Kawanee Avenue about 2 p.m. when he noticed a man walking toward his house, shouting angrily, the report said. Lancellotti said he couldn't understand the man because he was yelling in Spanish. But when the man got within two feet, he slugged Lancellotti in the head, the report said.

Lancellotti said he tried to defend himself with a garden rake. As the men struggled over the rake, the stranger bent over and bit Lancellotti on his right forearm, the report said. Lancellotti's flesh ripped away as he fell to the ground. The man then got on top of Lancellotti and began choking him, the report said.

It was then that neighbor Chantal Lorio, a podiatrist and director of the Wound Center at East Jefferson General Hospital, came out to check on Lancellotti. Lorio said Monday that she first thought Lancellotti was having a heart attack and the other man was trying to help him.

The stranger was still gripping Lancellotti as Lorio noticed her neighbor was lying in a pool of blood. She didn't learn what happened until she began dressing the wound -- with the stranger still clutching her neighbor's shirt.

"He said, 'He bit my arm, chewed the flesh and swallowed it in front of me, ' " Lorio recalled. She said the bite measured almost 3 by 1 1/2 inches, and was less than 1/4-inch deep.

The pair tried to calm the stranger, who never made any attempt to run away. He eventually let go of Lancellotti and walked two blocks to a parking lot, where he hovered near an empty police car, the report said. The suspect was still standing there when deputies arrived and took him into custody.

Vargas, of 724 Camp St., New Orleans, was booked with second-degree battery. He was being held Monday at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Lancellotti's wife, Bonnie, 60, said Monday that her husband was recovering from the bite, physically and mentally. She said his sense of safety in his neighborhood has been shaken.

With all the bacteria involved, Lorio said a bite from a human is worse than an animal bite.

Bonnie Lancellotti also has concerns about the suspect, who apparently had been treated at East Jefferson General Hospital earlier in the day for a finger injury. Vargas was released 45 minutes before the attack, according to the incident report.

Keith Darcey, spokesman for the hospital, said, "We cannot comment on any individual patient because of privacy laws. But as a matter of general hospital policy, the emergency department has behavioral health nurses available to help diagnose patients who might require mental health assistance."

. . . . . . .

Michelle Hunter can be reached at mhunter@timespicayune.com or 504.883.7054.

UPDATE

No shit, not five minutes after making the above poor taste zombie (bad) jokes I read this in the Boston Phoenix...

Boston Zombie Survival Guide: How Not To Get Your Brain Devoured This Weekend

Easter is upon us, and -- as is the custom -- the dead are rising. For anyone who hasn't been keeping up with their copy of the Undead Farmer's Almanac, allow us to give you the extended weekend zombie forecast, so that you may plan accordingly.

If you value your grey matter, you would do well to avoid Harvard Street this weekend: On Saturday, the Coolidge is sure to be heaving with ghouls. Horror-meister (and real-life undertaker) J. Cannibal hosts a screening of Cemetery Man (also known as Dellamorte Dellamore). This 1994 cult-favorite Italian flick stars Rupert Everett as a boneyard custodian who, along with his Igor-like sidekick, Gnaghi, catches a bad case of zombie fever when his corpses start re-animating (check out the trailer here). As extra bait, Cannibal has thrown in a costume contest, undead punk rawk from Vagiant, and performances by Black Cat Burlesque, who've been known to get a rise out of even the coldest cadaver. And here's a recap of the last "Feast of Flesh," in case any of you would-be zombie hunters feel like taking notes.

Easter Sunday, this most holy day of resurrection, brings with it an onslaught of zombies (and no doubt a horde of confused, corpse-painted quislings, who can be just as dangerous). They'll be mobilizing in Davis Square and then trudging to Harvard Square to feast on plump, well-marbled Ivy League brains. If you're planning to be in Cambridge that day, make sure to hit the gardening aisle at a hardware store beforehand to pick up supplies -- used properly, a sturdy shovel can decapitate and split open a decaying cranium faster than you can say "Cadbury Creme Egg." But if your tactic is to infiltrate the horde, it's easy enough to blend in. As these videos show, creating effective zombie camouflage is not only simple, it's dirt cheap. (Protip: for aromatic authenticity, nothing simulates rotting flesh better than rancid hot-dog water; spritz liberally on pulse points for best results.)

Anyone who manages to survive Sunday's infestation is clearly a cut above the rest when it comes to zombie evasion. But if you really want to become a leader in the fight against the Gray Menace, you will need to understand the enemy. And for that, you need Steven Schlozman, a psychiatrist who has dedicated his life to studying the inner workings of walking corpses. Tonight, Schlozman addresses the all-important questions: What does the brain of a zombie look like? Do they experience consciousness? And, most importantly, why are zombies so hungry? He'll be presenting his findings alongside a screening of the groundbreaking documentary Night of the Living Dead, field researcher George Romero's indispensable primer that paved the way for all undead life science to come (view the trailer here).

Skip this one at your own peril. And be sure to check back next week, when thephoenix.com's zombie-innoculated videographers present a look back at the Weekend of the Dead.Published Apr 09 2009, 09:48 AM by Carly Carioli

According to the Boston Herald the NHL has chosen Fenway Park, as the host of the 2010 NHL Winter Classic.

The report states Boston was chosen over New York and Philadelphia to host next season's ode to alfresco hockey and the opposing team is likely to be either the Rangers or the Montreal Canadiens, though nothing has been officially decided.

NHL officials had looked at playing the game in Fenway Park, home of Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox, or Gillette Stadium, home of the National Football League’s New England Patriots. However, fears over the NFL playoff schedule conflicting with the NHL's preferred January 1 date led the league to choose the historic baseball park over the larger capacity offered by Gillette.

The 2009 Winter Classic was played in front of 41,000 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago as the Blackhawks were defeated by the Detroit Red Wings 6-4. The 2008 game featured the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins in front of 71,217 at Ralph Wilson Stadium in upper New York. The Pens took that tilt in a shootout 2-1 on Sidney Crosby’s winner.

Because they hadn't seen the offer we made to them on Tuesday morning, that's why.

At the open house one of the sellers told us that some one in his family, son-in-law I think, was handling the sale for them. According to our broker he works for a real agency. Unfortunately he doesn't seem to have a clue what he's doing. The sellers did not see our Tuesday offer until our broker faxed it directly to them on Thursday morning. The sellers had no idea how down payments are calculated. They actually thought that we would make a $5,000 down payment and then walk away. They figured we'd need a bigger down payment to show we were serious. Huh? Five grand looks pretty serious to me.

So now they have our two day old offer in their hands. They are supposed to be meeting this afternoon, something else that fills us with tons of confidence, and if they don't accept it by 5:00 we're through with them. The house has been on the market for 229 days and they actually told our broker they want to see if other offers come in.

They asked for X.We offered them X.

What's the problem folks?

Now if this is how bad they operate during step one of the process, how screwed up are they going to be in all of the other steps? Is this going to drag on so long that it gets in the way of the wedding?

The answer is no. We aren't going to let it. The wedding is the top of our list. They can suck on their house if they think otherwise.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

We bought an HDTV a few months ago. Tonight we are at home watching our first Hi-Def Red Sox game. It looks awesome. Sadly the Red Sox are trailing Tampa Bay by a painful 5 to 1 score. It's game 2 out of 162 and I am on the Tobin bridge ready to jump off.

The housing drama continues. We told our agent that our offer expired at 4:00pm today. 4:00 came and went and we heard nothing. Jen then spoke to the agent afterwards and he basically gave us the "what are you nuts?" treatment. He managed to speak to one of the sellers and the delay seems to be that they don't have a clue what they're doing. So they asked us to extend the offer through 5:00pm tomorrow. Okay, we can do that... but no more.

There is one stretch of my drive home that tends to be delayed quite a bit. So, I took a bunch of pictures using the iPhone camerabag app. I didn't keep track of which function I used where, I just flipped around and saved the ones that looked nice. Enjoy!

Now not to change the subject or anything, but welcome the return of iPhone Astrophotography! WOOHOO The Moon!